Clothesline attachment with indoor swinging arm



Feb. 12, 1935. L, B wo 1,990,888

CLOTHESLINE ATTACHMENT WITH INDOOR SWINGING ARM Fild May 4,. 1954 INVENTOR Lat I9 5. Wa/ff ATTO R N EY Patented Feb. 12, 1935 CLOTHESLINE ATTACHMENT WITHINDOOR SWINGING ARM Louis B. Wolff, Bronx, N. 1?.

Application ,May 4, 1934, Serial No. 723,808

3 Claims.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improvement in devices for drawing the inner end of a clothes line of the type extending outward from a window, inside of the window, to facilitate hanging clothes thereon, in which a swinging arm is provided that may swing into the window and that may hang perpendicular on the window frame when not in use.

The invention is a swinging arm pivotally mounted on the outside of a window frame adapted to hold one end of a clothes line and positioned to swing about a pivot into the lower part of the window.

Attachments of this type have been provided for mounting the end of a clothes line extending from a window and with some of these devices it is possible to draw the clothes line into the window so that clothes may be hung thereon, however, substantially all of these devices are formed with outwardly extending arms which telescope or slide into the window, and in order to withstand wind pressure and the like, these arms are comparatively heavy and require elaborate supporting means and braces. It is, therefore an advantage to eliminate all mechanical parts that extend outward from the window frame.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide an attachment which will permit the inner end of a clothes line to be moved in thru a window in which all outstanding mechanical or structural parts are eliminated.

Anotherobject is to provide an attachment for supporting the inner end of a clothes line from a window frame which may readily be swung in-' ward to draw the clothes into the window.

Another object is to provide an attachment for holding the end of a .clothes line attached to the end of a window frame which requires very little additional clothes line.

A further object is to provide an arm pivotally attached to a window frame which may readily be swung inward to draw the end of the clothes line into the window in which the length of the clothes line remains the same in either position, so thata continuous line may be used.

And a still further object is to provide an attachment for holding the end of a clothes line to a window frame which permits the end of the clothes line to be'swung inside of the window without having projecting parts extending outside ofzthe window, which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these ends in view the invention embodies an arm, means pivotally mounting the arm on the side of a window frame, and means attaching a clothes .line to said arm in such a. manner that the line will remain in tension with the arm in either a vertical or horizontal position, said mounting means adapted to be positioned on either side of the window frame.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view showing across section thru a window with a clothes line extending outward therefrom and with a bracket attached to the outside of the window frame and with the swinging arm shown extending thru the window in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a view showing an enlarged detail.

Figure 4 is a prospective view showing the attachment with the pulleys omitted.

Figure .5 is a view looking toward the under side of the attachment, as shown in Figure 3, with the arm shown in section.

Figure 6 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 3, showing an alternate design and also showing the device as it may be used .on the topposite side of the Window. I

Figure 7 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 2, showing a side view of the device shown in Figure 6. 1

Figure Sis a diagrammatic plan showing the arm extending in thru the window and with the line extending outward therefrom at an angle in relation to the window.

In the drawing the. device is shown .as it may be made wherein numeral 1 indicates the arm, numeral 2 the attachment, and numeral 3 a clothes line. 1

The arm 1 is preferably made of .a flat bar, however, it will be understood that .it .may be made of material of any shape and may be formed in any manner. In the design shown the arm 1 is pivotally attached to the attachment 2 by a bolt 4, and the upper end of the arm is provided with a spring pin 5, which may he held'in openings 6 ina face plate l of the .attachment. The arm 1-.is, therefore, pivotally attached to the attachment and the spring pin provides means for holding the arm in the vertical position, as indicated in full lines in Fig-, ure 1, and also in-a horizontal position, asv indicated by the dotted lines 8 Figure 1. Itwill be understood that this arm may he .ptvotally mounted in any other manner, and any other means may also be used for locating and holding it indifierent positions.

In the design shown the upper end of the arm 1 is bent outward and over, forming a member 9, as shown in Figure 3, and the spring pin 5 is mounted in openings extending therethru. The pin is provided with a disc 10, and between the disc and outer end 9 "is a spring 11, which resiliently holds. the disc and pin inward in the position shown in Figure 3. It will be noted,

however, that when it may be desired to change the position of the arm, ,thespring pin maybe drawn outward, so that the arm maybe moved to the horizontal position, and when it arrives in this position, the pin will snap into the opening 6 corresponding therewith. I

In this design the attachment 2, upon which the arm is mounted, is formed of an angle shapewith the face plate 7 connecting the legs 12 and 13 thereof, and both of the legs are provided with openings '14, by which the attachment may be held by screws to the outside of the window frame, as shown in Figure 1, and as both sides of the attachment are identical, either may be used, as it will be noted that one leg may be attached to one side ofa window whereas, if it is desired to use the device on the opposite side, the other leg may be used. This makes it possible to provide a right and left hand device without changing any of the parts thereof except moving the pulley 15 from a projection 16 at-the end of the leg 12, to a projection 17 at the end of the leg 13, as the eye of the pulley is formed with an opening, thereby forming ,a hook, this pulley may readily be changed from one side to the other. The attachment 2 may be positioned on the side of a window, as shown in Figure 8, so thatit will overhang the inner edge thereof, and the arm may pass thru the window without engaging the side of the window frame.

In the design shown inFigures 6 and '7, the arm, which is indicated by the numeral 18, is formed of a different shape, so that the attachment, which is indicated by the numeral 19, may be located close'to the edge of thewindow frame or inserted in the outer edge thereof, and the arm extends outward sufiiciently to clear the edge of the frame. In this design the arm is pivotally mounted on a pin 20 and provided with a guard bolt 21 at the 'outer end, which travels in a slot 22 in order to locate and hold the end of the arm. The arm 'is also provided with a spring'pin 23, similar to thepin 5, and this passes thru the sections of'the arm with a disc 24 fixedly mounted on the, pin and a spring 25between'the disc and outer sectionof the arm. The inner end of the pin 23 snaps into openings 26 in the member 19,

to locate and hold the arm in either the vertical or horizontal position. In this design the memher-'19 is provided with ears 27 for holding the pulley 15,,and these maybe located at the two extreme corners, as shown in Figure 6, so that this attachment may be'placed at either side of the window frame. Attachment 19 is also provided with openings 28, by which it may be held to the window frame byscr'ews, or the like. Hook shaped members 29 may be provided on the arm 1, thru 'which'a clothes line may be placed when thedevice is in the normal position with the arm extending downward,"as shown in Figure -1. It-will be noted that the clothes line passes from an outer pulley 30 over the pulley 15, downward. around a pulley 31 at the lower end of the arm,:upwa-rd over the hook 29, and outward .to

the pulley 30, and when the arm is moved inward thru the window, the lower strand thereof may be unhooked from the member 29 so that it will be suspended between the pulleys 30 and 31 and clothes may be placed on that portion thereof that extends inside of the window. The line may then be moved over the pulleys, so that the clothes, or the like, will pass to the outside.

'An additional hook shaped member 32 may also be placed on the arm, as shown inFigure 8, however, this may only be used when the outer end of the line extends at an angle from the window,..as.indicated by the dotted line 33. It

will also be understood that when the line is at a comparatively slight angle, it may extend directlyifrom the pulley 31 at the end of the arm, as indicated by the dotted line 34. The line may therefore be attached to the arm at any point,

or, held by any means. The lower end of the arm may be bent, as shown in Figure 3, or as shown in Figure 6, and this end is provided with an opening thru which the pulley block- 31 may be placed, however, it will be understood that the pulley may be attached to the outer end of the arm inany manner or by any means.

It will be understood that other changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention. One of which changes may be in the use of other means for forming an offset in the arm for clearing the edge of the window, another may be in the use of other means for pivotally mounting, an arm'on the edge of a window, and. still another may be in the use of other means for holding the arm in different positions.

The construction will be readily understood from the foregoing description. In use the device may be made as shown and described and it will be noted that the attachment may be placed on either side of a window and positioned just below the bottom of the upper sash, so that the arm may swing in thru the lower portion of the window. With the device positioned in this man ner, the clothes line may be placedover the'pulleys, as hereinbefore described and when it is desired to draw the clothes line into the window, it is only necessary to withdraw the spring pin and twist the arm about :the pivot, raising it until the spring pin snaps into the opening frame, and the arm hangs downward in the vertical position when not in use, however, when it isdesired to hang clothes upon or remove them from the line, the spring pin. is held open while the arm is swung upward inside of the window 'thru an angle of 90 degrees with the lower sash raised and, as soon as the clothes'are placed'on or removed from the line, the arm is moved downward to the vertical-position. In the design shown in Figures '2 and 3, the arm is pivotally mounted on one pin and held by a spring pin, which may snap into openings adaptedto'locate and hold the 'arm in either the vertical or horizontal position, and in the design shown in Figur'es6 and 7 anadditional slotis'provided with a pin adapted to locate and hold the end of the arm with the slot forming a guide for the arm and adapted to steady the arm in any position, as it moves from one position to the other. This slot may be located at any point or points, and the end of the arm may be held therein in any manner.

The slot may also extend thru an angle of 90 degrees, as shown, or thru any angle, in order to hold the arm in any position. It will be noted that as the arm is drawn inward with the line full of clothes, there will be considerable strain tending to pull the arm outward and, therefore, this slot provides means for holding the arm to withstand the strain. This strain is also increased when the outer end of the clothes line extends at an angle toward one side of the window, as shown in Figure 8, and for extreme cases the inner end of the arm may be made long and the slot with the pin extending therethru positioned further from the center to hold the arm with greater rigidity. The slot, therefore, forms a guide and hold the arm in any position. This slot may, however, be omitted, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A clothes line attachment of the character described, embracing a quadrant shaped bracket having two attaching surfaces at right angles to each other with their edges connected at one side by a web, openings in said attaching surfaces whereby either surface may be attached to a window frame, an arm pivoted to the web of said bracket and adapted to be moved over the face of said web, one end of said arm extending a considerable distance from said bracket, means for locking said arm in either a vertical or horizontal position with respect to said quadrant and about the pivotal point, and projections having sockets therein at the extreme ends of each of the attaching surfaces and at the ends of the quadrant.

2. In a clothes line attachment of the type having a swinging arm positioned on the outer surface of a window frame and adapted to swing in thru the window, a right angular shaped bracket having a continuous web at one side and openings in both legs of the bracket thru which either leg may be attached to the outer surface of a window frame, an arm pivotally attached to said web and positioned with the inner surface thereof in slidable contact with the web, and a spring pin in the end of said arm registering with openings in said web and adapted to lock said arm in either a vertical or horizontal position, said bracket and arm adapted to hold a clothes line and adapted to swing inward to bring the inner end of the clothes line inside of the window.

3. In a clothes line attachment of the type having a swinging arm mounted on a window frame and positioned to swing in thru the window, a bracket comprising two perpendicularly positioned plates with a web connecting the adjacent edges of said plates and at one side thereof, an arm pivotally mounted on said web, and means locking said arm in either a vertical or horizontal position, said device adapted to hold the end of a clothes line, and to move said clothes line in thru the window in order to place clothes thereon or remove them therefrom.

LOUIS B. WOLFF. 

